A senior Cambridgeshire police officer has said he is “profoundly sorry” after admitting gross misconduct at a public hearing.

Assistant Chief Constable Nav Malik today received a final written warning after he admitted mentoring an officer up for promotion to Chief Inspector, a position he was interviewing for.

Mr Malik said: “It has been a very difficult period for all concerned, leading up to the misconduct process. This concluded today with the issue of a final written warning, on the recommendation of an independent panel, chaired by a QC and including HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Tom Winsor.

“I would like to make clear my profound apology to all those that have been affected by my behaviour and in particular to those directly affected, which include the candidates, staff members, my fellow police officers, the Chief Constable and the force. I have let down the public who have supported me in so many ways, as well as my immediate family and friends. I have also let myself down and fallen below the high standards I have upheld for my entire 27 years of public service.

“I reflected on my actions and decided that the admission of Discreditable Conduct at Gross Misconduct was the right thing to do and the force accepted this position. I did not intend in any way for colleagues involved in the promotion process to be affected, but I do understand the significant impact it had on them and how wider colleagues felt following my actions. This has led to significant embarrassment but I accept it was my own error of judgement.

“Since joining Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 2016 I have pushed tirelessly to ensure we deliver well operationally. I have offered coaching/mentoring both locally and nationally, undertaken several national roles and considerable community work in my own time. I have not reported sick in over 20 years but now with hindsight realise that my approach to work, in juggling so many important operational roles, functions, engagement activity, coaching/mentoring and other pressures, may have not been optimal and therefore led to the error I made.

“Over the last few months I have taken time to address my ways of working and to ensure that I do not take on too much and I accept that the responsibility for managing my workload and my time is my own. I am not in any way diminishing my personal responsibility and have taken specific steps to apologise to individuals affected and demonstrate my actions whilst wrong, were an error. This has been accepted by all those I have spoken with.

“I have never wanted anyone to feel that they could not face a promotion process. I care passionately about diversity, not only due to my national roles, but because of who I am and how I was raised. I have done much to support fellow officers and staff from all backgrounds to progress and develop. I have been and will continue to be a real advocate for a diverse workforce and to ensure all communities better understand the supportive role of the police service.

“I am profoundly sorry for my actions, the ill thought through nature of them and importantly the consequences of them on individuals, communities and the force. I am deeply grateful, to the independent panel, for the opportunity to put that right and will take active steps to reassure colleagues and the public of my commitment to the core values and ethics of the police service. I believe that I still have a great deal to offer and am humbled by the support of so many, who have expressed the same view.

“I now intend to recommit myself to the service of the public with humility, having learned a great deal from the past few months.”